Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland was impressed with the crowd that amassed at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday morning, but it had nothing to do with football.

More than 20,000 people showed up to support the Dan Marino Foundation's WalkAbout Autism event, the largest crowd in the event's three-year history. Ireland and Marino both have children afflicted with autism, and their WalkAbout has now raised more than $1.4 million in three years for Marino's foundation, which benefits autism organizations within Dade and Broward Counties.

"It's grown into something much larger than we ever expected," Ireland said Saturday morning. "We're trying to affect this community and bring awareness and raise money for the organizations that have really helped us."